The End of Days
by Drakarn
Summary: Two mercenaries are interrupted in their job and end up finding more than was expected. Rated T for some violence and swearing.
1. First Cases

It was a dark and abandoned building. Any semblance of usefulness completely lost to whoever may have inhabited it, which were mostly rats. The windows were shattered and the floors were old and decaying with age. The air was biting as the moon reached its peak, signaling midnight. A cold breeze swept through the broken building as it sat, lonely in the middle of a large city. Yet through all the death and decay there were other signs of life other than the vermin. Two men sat at the eastern edge of the fourth story window, one holding a sniper rifle and aiming it at a more populated building, the other holding an M-16 and keeping an eye out for anyone else.

The man with the sniper rifle cracked his neck, adjusting his black trench coat to where he wouldn't get his suit too dirty. As he peered down the sight of the rifle through his ceramic skull mask that covered his face completely he felt a breeze rush by him and knock his hat out of place. Adjusting it he focused his aim back down at the building.

The man with the M-16 flipped the hood of his white jacket over his head to keep his ears from freezing off. He brushed a bit of dirt off of his mask, which had only two slits for eyes. He shook his large arms to keep blood flowing and glanced back at his partner. "Think you got this, Reaper?" He asked, turning around to face the building as well.

"I've got it Wraith, trust me." Reaper replied, his thin body shaking from the cold.

"Are you certain?" Wraith asked in a sarcastic tone. "Because the last time you had it you forgot who the target was."

"What?" Reaper said defensively. "We got him eventually."

"Yeah, only because he stepped into traffic after you shot that waiter."

"Point is we'll get the job done." Reaper continued. "Trust me, it'll work."

"…Do you even remember the one we're targeting?" Wraith asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Eh…yeah?" Reaper replied nervously. "It's…Chuck right?"

Wraith sighed and pulled up a picture of an old man. As he did this he began reading a description as well as the reasons for the job. "Alex Mavern, drug trafficker. Age: 68, reason for death: eliminating competition. Usually seen wearing a suit with a red shirt and black tie. He has two bodyguards, one with a shaved head the other with a ponytail. Mode of death: Determined by executioners."

As Wraith folded the picture up and put it in his pocket Reaper shrugged. "I would've figured it out eventually."

"But we're supposed to finish the job tonight." Wraith said, sighing. "Please tell me you have a visual of the contact."

"I've had him in my sights for a while now." Reaper replied. "He's been making this deal with another guy. I can't really get a good shot in, though. Baldy bodyguard is in the way."

"Just be sure to get him before he leaves the city." Wraith sighed.

A few moments passed and eventually Reaper said. "Huh, that's odd."

"What?" Wraith asked, a slight amount of hope in his voice.

"Looks like one of the bodyguards has a case of the sniffles or something. He's been coughing all through the deal." Reaper replied casually.

"You're supposed to be keeping your attention on the dealer." Wraith stated, agitated.

"I know I know." Reaper sighed, shifting the rifle to aim at Alex once again.

"You'd better know or we won't be able to pay for food this week."

"Still, it's very hard to pay attention with all the distractions."

"What's going on now?"

"Ponytail's starting to cough up…is that blood?"

"Irrelevant to the job at hand, Reaper."

"No, this is really relevant, and really bad." Reaper said, glancing up at Wraith.

"How so?"

"Baldy's calling somebody…maybe an ambulance or the police or somebody."

"Then take the shot damnit!" Wraith shouted, looking to the building in desperation.

"The target's moved out of my field of vision. It looks like Ponytail's hit the floor."

"You're joking right?"

"No…and baldy's finished his call. We're in some serious trouble here."

"Well do something."

"Actually…I don't think I need to do much at all."

"What's do you mean?" Wraith asked, genuinely curious.

Reaper lowered his gun, amazement in his voice. "You're not going to believe this."

"What? What's happening?"

"Well…"Reaper stopped, almost not believing what he was saying. "Ponytail just stood up and ripped out Alex's throat."

"What? Let me see." Wraith pushed Reaper to the side and began looking through the scope. His response was the same as Reaper, a mixture of surprise and annoyance. They had sat up in that cold building for three days, staking out the area and watching his every move. Now, with their chance finally upon them, the bodyguard gets the sniffles and goes on a killing spree. It annoyed the mercenaries to no end.

Reaper sighed and began taking apart the sniper rifle. "Well, what do you recommend we do about this?"

"Leave him to what he's doing. I'm certain ponytail will get his eventually." Wraith replied, turning away.

"No, I mean about the job." Reaper said, stuffing the parts of the rifle into a suitcase. "What do we tell the employer?"

"Just tell him we put something in ponytail's water or something." Wraith said, as he spoke Reaper pulled out a cell phone and began dialing a number.

A few moments passed and Reaper began speaking as he heard their employer's voice on the phone. "Yeah, it's me." Reaper started. "We got him." A few moments passed and Reaper chuckled. "Put something in one of his guard's drinks. He went crazy and took out the target no sweat…Don't sweat the small stuff, just pay us the fee and we'll be on our way…Just send the assets to our offshore account…Alright, and no, thank you."

"Now that situation is done and over with, what the hell happened!"

"I honestly have no idea." Reaper replied with a sigh.

Reaper closed his cell phone and Wraith nodded his approval. "Right, well that doesn't matter now. We're done here so let's head out. I'm eager to get back home."

Reaper began rubbing his chin, seeming to be in deep thought. "Something about this is bugging me." Reaper said, looking up at Wraith.

"What?"

"About ponytail." Reaper replied.

"What about it?" Wraith asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Since we started watching them ponytail was probably the most mentally stable out of all of them." The mercenary replied as he scratched his head. "It just doesn't seem right that he'd snap like that and go on a killing spree."

"He was also sick, if you recall." Wraith said, hoping to find some explanation. "He could've been thinking irrationally during that meeting."

"But he was coughing up blood, Wraith."

"Probably just another symptom, don't look too into it. Alex is dead and we got paid. Just be happy that we had a successful mission and get on with life."

Reaper sighed, picking up the suitcase that held the rifle. "Alright then, let's head to the car." As he said this the sound of pistol fire could be heard. "Guess that means they got ponytail."

The two mercenaries walked out of the room they were in and into a hallway. As they did they heard sirens in the distance, meaning that the cleanup was started. Wraith seemed unconcerned about what happened, but Reaper still had his doubts. What happened to that guy? People don't just snap like that, not if they're in the right frame of mind.

He was so obsessed with this situation that he didn't notice the door to the outside was closed and walked right into it. He heard Wraith chuckle as he opened the door. "You usually do this to work a door my friend."

"Shut it." Reaper said, rubbing his nose. "I'm not a moron that doesn't know how to open a door."

"Just relax, Reaper, it's only a joke."

Reaper sighed, stepping out into the cold night air and into a dank alley. Parked at the edge of the alley was a black muscle car, frost building on the front window. Reaper got into the driver's side while Wraith got into the passenger and the car's low rumble resonated through the alleyway.

On the inside of the car the bottom of the back was completely clean, as were the leather seats. In fact, the entirety of the car was perfectly clean. Reaper chose to keep it like this, not being able to drive in a dirty car.

Reaper saw Wraith turn the radio on from the corner of his eye. The local news station turned on and the familiar voice of the newscaster came onto the radio. "…And in other news, the random acts of violence continue to increase as the police find their hands full."

Suddenly Reaper and Wraith's attention were focused on the radio. "Turn it up." Reaper said as he started driving. Wraith nodded, turning up the radio.

"Eye witnesses to each of the attacks have said that the offenders had a high fever and vomited up blood." As the newscaster said this, the two mercenaries glanced at each other. "After vomiting up the blood the offenders would enter a period of silence, usually lasting thirty seconds or so, then they would get up shortly after and start attacking the nearest person. We have concluded that this is caused by a special disease that CEDA is working to contain."

"CEDA?" Reaper asked, looking to the radio. "Those useless government monkeys?"

"Quiet." Wraith said, glaring at Reaper. "Hear that?"

The next few words the newscaster said were lost to the two mercenaries as they tried to listen to the background noises. It was faint but they heard a light coughing noise every now and again. "What do you think?" Reaper asked, turning to Wraith.

"I think something's going to happen if we leave the radio on long enough." Wraith replied, turning up the radio even more.

A few minutes passed as the two mercenaries drove through the crowded city streets and the condition of the new report didn't seem to change. There was something about a robbery and a few rednecks making some assault or something like that but it didn't matter. Through the entire news report the sound of the coughing seemed to grow a little louder. Eventually the report stopped and they heard the new caster say, "Jennings, are you alright?"

From that point there was nothing audible, merely loud noises and shouting. They heard a loud crash and then there was silence. A few moments of uncomfortable noiselessness passed between the mercenaries as they turned off the radio. "Well…" Reaper said, drifting off. "I think this is more than a coincidence."

"So you honestly think there's a disease turning everyone into homicidal maniacs?" Wraith asked, turning to his partner.

"Hard to argue with the evidence." Reaper replied. "It's even happening in the news stations."

"…Do you realize what that means?"

"What?"  
>"Our cover story can be proven false at any point…meaning that our employer can stop our payment if this reaches his ears."<p>

"Oh…crap." Reaper sighed, realizing their situation.

As they were talking more and more sirens began to sound off in the distance. "Sounds like the police have their hands full." Wraith stated as a cop car drove past them.

"It looks like it's more than the police." Reaper said as an ambulance drove past a stoplight from across the street.

Wraith sighed and sat back in his seat. "Unexplained diseases, unprecedented attacks, hell even the police and emergency medical services are being run ragged. If I didn't know any better I'd say we were in the middle of a zombie invasion."

"Nah." Reaper said, shaking his head. "This is only the beginning."

"You honestly believe we're going to run into a zombie apocalypse?" Wraith asked, almost laughing.

"Not entirely, this may be just a passing thing." Reaper replied, any semblance of anything jovial lost. "But it may be best to avoid CEDA and all that for the time being. In fact, it may be best if we hunker down in the warehouse for a time."

"What? Our homes aren't good enough?" Wraith asked, a little surprised.

"They can't be defended as easily as the warehouse." The smaller mercenary said. "Besides, it has a large store of weapons that may be useful. I'm not saying we go Rambo on anything that moves just yet, but it pays to be prepared for the worst as a just in case measure."

Wraith sighed, rubbing his temples. "Well you have a point there. Okay, we'll hole up in the warehouse for a week, but if you're wrong about this then you owe me a day of drinks at the bar. Sound like a fair deal?"

Reaper nodded, turning at a nearby stoplight. "Deal, just try not to kill yourself if you're right."

"I'm not making any promises." Wraith chuckled as the two began heading off towards the warehouse they had rented out on the costal side of the city.


	2. First Contact

_Reaper's journal entry one: A week has passed and the situation has gone from bad, to worse, to total shit-storm. In one day they had to call in the National Guard. On the second day fighting escalated and the evacuation of the city began. On the third day we lost broadcast and the sounds of fighting started dimming. On the fourth day we lost all power and any semblance of fighting was now anyone left behind from the evacuation, which was a lot. Luckily our private generator kicked in and kept us informed on a general basis. Before all transmissions were cut it was revealed that this epidemic had spread across the entire country. At first the broadcasts said it was a special kind of flu. Flu my ass, this thing turned people into…animals…no that's not the word. A week ago wraith mentioned a zombie apocalypse. I think that's a better term for it. Now the only people left are the ones infected with this disease and a few survivors that managed to escape the epidemic in the city. Infected…that's a good name for them. From what we could tell on the news channels it's an airborne virus that spreads rapidly. Those with higher immune systems resist it at first, but one any form of the virus is introduced to the bloodstream it's over for the majority of people. Yet there have been reports of people getting bitten and no signs of the infection show in their bodies. This leads me to believe that there are people immune to the virus, which means there must be other survivors. We have a police radio that we're keeping online at all times in the hopes of finding a survivor. So far no one's replied. We've only got one week's worth of food and water left, meaning we'll have to go out and see what's become of the world outside. We'll load up on as many guns as possible and see if there are any zones that haven't been taken over by the infected. Should be an adventure. If anyone reads this, understand that this will document all that I see in the world of the infected._

Reaper closed the small black book that he was writing in. Slowly he put it into his jacket pocket and took a look at his surroundings. He was in a warehouse but it looked nothing like one. It was well furnished with couches and even an entertainment center. There was a fridge that was stocked, a large T.V. in the center, and even a few paintings to try and liven the place up. Along the wall there were rows and rows of weapons ranging from small caliber pistols to a chain gun. Of course not all of these items were acquired legally, but the point to be worried about the law was completely gone now.

Reaper stood up from a stool he had been sitting in and cracked his neck. He began walking towards the television and noticed Wraith leaning back and taking a quick nap. Reaper sighed and smacked the other mercenary across the back of the head. Wraith woke up with a start, almost falling off of the couch. "What the hell was that for?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"We need to head out." Reaper said, ignoring his friend's annoyance.

"What for? We're safe here aren't we?" Wraith asked, standing up and heading over to the fridge.

"For a week, at the most." Reaper replied as Wraith picked up a beer bottle and opened it.

"So why can't we just wait a week then get going?" Wraith asked, drinking the beer through a slit in the mouth area.

"That may work for a time, but you're not accounting for looters and other aspects like that."

"Looters?" Wraith asked, lowering the drink from his mouth.

Reaper nodded, sitting down on the couch. "Yeah, looters. With the apocalypse at our doorstep there's bound to be people ballsy enough to stay behind and try to cash in on some choice loot. I wouldn't put it past them to take some food and get on with their lives."

"Okay, so what does that have to do with our food situation?"

"With the looters hanging around and stealing anything that isn't nailed down I'd say the possibility of us finding any amount of food is slim. Meaning we'd need several days worth of food just to find a source of sustenance."

"I suppose that makes sense. It's more difficult to find anything if it's gone…so we're leaving now?" Wraith asked, finishing off his beer.

Reaper nodded, looking to the door outside. "Unfortunately we'll have to. Chances are more and more of those infected guys are running around with every passing moment. I don't want to be completely overwhelmed."

Wraith stood straight up, cracking his back. "I'll get as many guns as we can carry then." He commented, walking over to a wall lined with shotguns. Wraith picked up two, a pump action and an automatic. He then opened a drawer filled with ammo packs. He then picked up a belt with a large amount of pockets and began stuffing them with the ammo packs. After he was done there he picked up his M-16 and strapped it onto his person along with the two shotguns.

Reaper chuckled as his friend began stuffing his pockets with as many grenades as possible. The amount of firepower he was carrying was very large indeed. Reaper walked over to a wall with several pistols, he chose two 9-mm and placed them in holsters in his belt. He then stuffed a few of his trench coat pockets with clips of ammo. Shrugging he decided to go with more firepower than this, walking over to another wall and picking up two sub machineguns and placing them in holsters he had hidden under his trench coat and picking up more clips of ammo. He then picked up a sniper rifle and strapped it to his back, afterwards he picked up silencers for each of the weapons as Wraith picked up a grenade launcher attachment for his M-16 and picked up several small grenades.

"Think we got enough?" Wraith asked when he was done arming himself.

Reaper rubbed his chin for a second, and then shook his head. "No, we need something else."

"What?"

Reaper walked over to a smaller area of the warehouse, picking up two metal short-sticks and placing them in small holders on his back as well as a combat knife and putting it in a holster on his side. "We're going to need some melee weapons." He said, adjusting his weapons.

Wraith nodded. "Right, that would probably be good." At that he walked over to Reaper and picked up a large metal bat and held it happily.

Reaper nodded his approval. "I think we're good now."

As the two began walking to the door Wraith paused. "Hold it." He said, looking back to the police radio. "We're going to need that."

"Why? It's just dead weight."

"No." Wraith shook his head. "We'll need it as a just in case. I'd like to try and find survivors on this little venture."  
>Reaper sighed, rubbing his temples. "Very well, put it in the car and we'll head out." Wraith nodded and ran over to the radio, unplugging it and holding it in his large forearms.<p>

As Wraith caught up to his partner, who was now at the door, Reaper began turning off the lights. When Wraith was next to him Reaper began opening the door, slowly and silently to make sure they weren't heard.

The cold wind blew across their bodies like water over a stone. There were no clouds and the moon was at its peak once more, another beautiful midnight in hell. Reaper looked over to where he parked the car, right next to the ocean and near a pile of boxes so it wasn't seen. The boxes hadn't been disturbed yet, but there were several humanoid shapes wandering aimlessly around the area. He noticed Wraith put the police radio down and try to grab his M-16 but Reaper stopped him. "Try not to make any noise, we want this to be as quiet as possible." Reaper commented, drawing the combat knife.

"Think that'll work?" Wraith whispered.

"It should in theory." Reaper replied as quietly as possible. "They're infected people, not superhuman. They should die if I hit a vital point like any normal person."

"You're welcome to try, I'll stay here and watch your back if you need help."

Reaper nodded, darting forward silently. He ducked in between anything that would give him cover from the few infected that wandered about the area. It wasn't long before he found himself a few feet from the car and about seven infected. He prepared his knife when he heard the footsteps of one get closer. Once it came into his vision Reaper almost vomited. Its face was covered in blood, it's body pale, and clothes tattered. Yet the strangest thing about this creature wasn't the body itself, it was the eyes. The eyes were so cold and dead like the eyes of a trapped creature. It tilted its head to the side for a moment, as there was a dead silence around the area. Then it raised its arm as if to strike. Without thinking a moment further, Reaper grabbed the infected's arm and stopped it in mid strike. It seemed slightly stronger than a normal human, which was very odd. There was no time to dwell on that; however, since the infected began swinging it's other arm. Just before the creature made contact Reaper sliced open its throat with the knife, causing blood to pour out from the wound.

The infected was stunned for a moment, and then it fell to the ground and died as a pool of blood began forming around the body. Reaper gave a sigh of relief. These things did die like normal humans, albeit infected ones. The rest of the infected in the area were easy to kill since their attention was drawn elsewhere. The mercenary deal death swiftly and efficiently, like the grim reaper.

Once the bloody work was done Wraith quickly made his way to the pile of boxes that hid the car, carrying the police radio. Reaper began moving the boxes aside, revealing the perfectly clean car. He then pulled out the keys and placed it in the car door, unlocking it. Everything seemed like it would work out perfectly, but as soon as he opened the door the car alarm went off. "Damn!" Reaper shouted, surprised.

Reaper quickly hopped into the car, unlocking the other doors, but the car alarm was still blaring. "Turn it off!" Wraith shouted as they heard the sounds of a pack of creatures coming from their front.

Reaper turned the car on and stopped the alarm, but it was too late. A pack of infected began charging the source of the noise. Reaper noticed Wraith had his M-16 out and as soon as the first infected came into view the large mercenary began opening fire. No infected was safe from the hail of bullets that greeted them, and as they were cut down by the row they eventually began to slow up. That bought Wraith enough time to get into the car and toss the radio into the back. Setting it up would have to come later though. Wraith's clip was empty and there was a large pack of raving lunatics headed their way.

Without a moment to lose Reaper set the car to drive and floored it. He crushed several infected as Wraith began loading another clip into his M-16. Once they were clear of the dock area and into a less crowded area they both let out a sigh of relief. "What the hell was that?" Wraith asked angrily, turning to Reaper.

"How was I supposed to know they'd go after the car alarm?" Reaper asked, indignant.

"Common sense! They know that noise usually mean food. Why would you even have the car alarm on to begin with?"

"I don't trust people, okay?" Reaper said, sighing.

Once they got out of sight of any infected and into a more barren area of the city the car rolled to a stop. "What now?" Wraith asked, rubbing his temples.

"We just ran into a small group." Reaper said, coming to a sudden realization.

"Yeah?"

"We can't get this car through the city without attracting every infected in the area."

"Meaning…" Wraith drifted off.

"We'll have to huff it." Reaper finished, looking at the large and imposing buildings that made up the inner area of the city.

"We'll worry about that later." Wraith stated, hooking up the police radio to the car.

"You're going to try that again? No one's going to answer." Reaper stated, cutting the engine but letting the battery run.

Wraith ignored his partner, turning on the radio and speaking into it. "Anyone out there, I repeat, anyone out there? We're two survivors in a black car looking for anyone that may still be alive and sane."

Reaper sighed as a moment of silence permeated the air. "I told you, no one's going to ans-"

He was cut off by a sudden voice that came to life on the radio. It sounded tired and gruff, but definitely human. "What? Someone actually survived the week other than myself? Well you'll be happy to know you found another survivor."

The look Reaper would've had on his face probably would've made Wraith burst out in laughter if they both weren't wearing masks. As the moment of hope passed between the two they realized something important. They weren't alone.


	3. Special Infected

"What are you people dead all of a sudden?" The voice on the radio said, a little annoyed. "I said you found another survivor."

Reaper turned on the car, nodding to Wraith who started speaking into the radio again. "Yeah, sorry, who are you now?"

"What, you want to know my life story? Names aren't important right now I've got a shit-ton of infected in the building with me and I need to stay quiet. I'm armed but there's another survivor with me, doctor specifically. We're in Miracle Works Hospital on Sanction Boulevard, room 514. I'd say more but I need to cut the touchy feely crap short otherwise I'll be heard by every motherless bastard in the area." After that the connection was cut.

"You catch that?" Wraith asked, looking to Reaper.

Reaper nodded, putting his foot on the gas. "Miracle Works Hospital, I know the place. It's not too far from here."

Reaper drove the car through the streets as far as he could without disturbing the infected. That was a surprising distance as they got within viewing distance of the hospital. The building itself looked old and decrepit, hollow and dead. It was as if the building itself was infected. Of course the building was completely forgotten about when the two mercenaries saw the hoard of infected. There were at least fifty wandering around the area, let alone the unknown amount of infected around the alleys, underground parking, and other areas like that.

Reaper turned the car off and sat back in his seat. "What now? We can't just pass up another survivor."

Wraith scratched his chin for a moment, looking back at the hospital. "Well we can't just go out there guns ablaze. We need a plan to get in there and get out without using much of our ammunition."

Reaper began scratching the back of his neck, thinking of some way to get past the horde of infected. He snapped his fingers after a moment. "Do we still have those flashbangs in the trunk?"

Wraith turned his head suddenly, realizing what Reaper's plan was. "We do but you'd be crazy to try it."

"What? I just need one and I'll be in and out in no time."

"It's your choice, Reaper. Just don't expect me to bail you out if you find yourself ass deep in a horde of freaks with the munchies."

Reaper shrugged, getting out of the car. "Never expected you to. I do, however, expect you to run like hell once they leave. We'll meet up in the entrance." After saying this he opened the trunk and pulled out a small grenade that was shaped more like a cylinder than an egg shape.

Without saying another word he snuck away from the car and darted silently to a nearby building that didn't have any infected around it. He paused for a moment, letting his heartbeat thunder in his head. He began to have second thoughts about tossing this grenade, but the thought of two more survivors, especially one being a doctor, was too good of an opportunity to pass up. He let his heart beat a few more times, and then turned the corner and threw the grenade as far as he could. It flew over to the hospital and into an alley next to the broken building. After that Reaper lost sight of it. That is, until the familiar flash and bang that were customary of the device came.

The grenade was enough to draw the attention of a few infected, but not the entirety of the horde. For a second Reaper thought he'd have to shoot his way in. Those fears were lost soon, however, because the familiar sound of a car alarm started going off. "Wait…there was a car parked there?" Reaper thought aloud. He closed his mouth suddenly, fearing that the infected would hear him. They didn't, though, because they were too distracted by the sound of the car alarm and went charging after it. There were no more infected in front of the building and even infected from other alleyways went chasing after the sound of the noise. Reaper saw Wraith sprinting towards the hospital and eventually get inside without firing a shot. Reaper did the same, though he felt a little nervous when he heard the sounds of Wraith's M-16 go off in the building. Before he entered the hospital he heard the sounds of infected breaking apart something large and metal.

When Reaper stepped into the hospital it looked even worse than the outside. There was wreckage everywhere. The backup generator was working, barely, showing lights flickering every now and again while other lights were just out completely. He noticed broken lights dangling from the ceiling and dead patients lining the halls, as well as dead infected. He heard the sounds of footsteps and immediately stopped, pressing his back against the wall. Slowly they got louder and louder until they were right in front of him. When Reaper saw who it was he gave a sigh of relief. "Try not to scare me like that, Wraith." He said, letting his breath out.

"What? You're afraid of a few freaks with appetite issues?" Wraith asked, chuckling a bit.

"I am when I don't have any weapons out." Reaper said, drawing the two pistols from their holsters.

"That guy said they were in room 516, any idea where that is?" Wraith asked, going back to his business tone again.

"Floor five…" Reaper sighed. "Meaning we'd have to huff it up several flights of stairs, probably full of infected."

"What about the elevators? I think they're down the hallway and they should be operational."

"Should being the key word there. Yet, I think that'd be better than walking up the stairs."

Wraith nodded, loading a fresh clip into his gun and started walking down the hallway. Reaper walked right beside his partner, always looking backwards to see if they would be followed by any infected. At the same time Wraith kept his gun pointed forward, finger on the trigger.

While they were walking down the hall the two kept getting the feeling that they were being watched. Every now and again they thought they'd hear a growl, or something to that degree, and their eyes would dart in every direction to try and find the source of the sound. They also thought they heard a coughing sound from time to time, yet found nothing when they would check in a room.

It was when the two started rounding a corner that all hell broke loose. Standing at the end of the hall were two figures, a tall and lanky figure with a large tongue dangling from its mouth, and a small crouching figure that appeared to be wearing a hoody. The tall creature spat its tongue out and it wrapped around Wraith's body before he had the chance to pull the trigger. As for the other creature, it let out a terrifying scream and made an inhuman leap towards Reaper, who barely dodged it but dropped his pistols in the process.

He saw the tall one start dragging Wraith, who was fighting with all his might, away. He tore his attention away from that sight, assuming Wraith could handle himself, and paid attention to the more immediate threat. The small infected turned around, disappointed that it missed its target, and swung a claw-like arm at the mercenary. Reaper dodged the attack by jumping back into a room where the door was barely on its hinges and filled with fist-sized holes. The infected started running up to Reaper, but as it did so Reaper grabbed the end of the door and slammed it with all his might into the infected's face. Through one of the holes he saw that it was stunned but still standing directly in front of the door. Immediately after the door hit the infected Reaper reached through one of the holes and grabbed the creature by the neck. He then dragged it back into the door and slammed its face into it twice. He released its neck and it seemed drunk as it staggered slightly. Reaper chuckled under his mask and kicked the door with everything he had. The kick knocked the door off its hinges and fell on top of the infected. As the creature began struggling under the weight of the door Reaper stepped on top of it. HE quickly drew his knife, knelt down on the door, found a hole that exposed the creature's chest, and stabbed the knife directly into its heart. A moment passed and the infected stopped struggling and simply died.

Reaper stood up, cracking his neck. He quickly ran to where Wraith was and noticed him still struggling with the hideous tongue. Reaper began looking for his pistols to shoot this other infected when Wraith did the strangest thing. Without thinking the other mercenary stopped struggling and began sprinting forward. The coughing creature must've been as surprised as Reaper because it didn't make an effort to run off. Wraith slammed into it, sending it into a wall and releasing its grip on the mercenary. It quickly regained itself and turned to run off. Wraith grabbed the tongue just as it was starting to go back into the creature and shouted, "No you don't!" And with a mighty heave pulled the tall infected back in one yank. The creature fell to the floor in front of Wraith, who drew the bat that he had, and it made another attempt to escape. As soon as it got to its knees Wraith gave a great swing and smacked the creature across the head, sending it flying in the direction the bat was swinging. Its body flew into a room and exploded in a cloud of smoke, which caused the two mercenaries to jump in surprise.

A few moments passed as the two picked up their weapons. "What the hell were THOSE things?" Reaper asked, looking to the corpse of the hooded creature

"I dunno, but that thing I killed just disappeared…I mean only the smoke is left."

"Yeah and this thin was stalking us like a…" Reaper began scratching his chin, looking at the corpse.

"Predator?" Wraith asked.

"No, no…like a…hunter." Reaper replied, snapping his fingers.

"That works." Wraith nodded. "So what about that smokey creature?"

"Smokey creature doesn't work for you?" Reaper chuckled.

"Oh ha ha. No, that name doesn't work…what about smoker?"

Reaper shrugged his shoulders, walking down the hall with Wraith. "Works for me, honestly I don't think we'll run into any more infected like that."

As they walked down the hall they saw a sign, "Staff Elevators" it read. The two looked at each other and walked over to the button. Reaper pressed it and waited for the elevator, Wraith keeping watch. The familiar ding of the elevator rang through the empty halls and the double doors opened slowly. Luckily there were no infected inside and they walked in without too much fuss. Reaper pressed the number five button on the elevator and the doors closed. The two mercenaries felt the shift of the elevator going up and looked around uncomfortably, not sure if the elevator was completely safe or not. "The only thing this elevator needs is some cheesy music." Reaper said to break the tension.

Wraith didn't respond, putting his M-16 on his back and pulling out his pump-action shotgun. He aimed it at the door and Reaper sighed, pulling out one of the pistols and pointing it at the door as well. When it reached its destination they hear another dinging sound and the doors began opening. When they got to a certain point a gray and bloody face appeared in the space between the two doors. Both Reaper and Wraith pulled the trigger simultaneously, hitting the creature directly in the head. The creature fell backwards, a shower of blood pouring out of its now destroyed face. The two mercenaries stepped out into the building once again, somehow this floor looked even worse than the bottom one with doctors' and nurses' bodies piled everywhere along with patients and dead infected. There was no time to admire the decorating, though, because a large group of infected heard the gunshots and started charging the mercenaries.

Reaper began unloading his pistol into the group, not a shot missing. Wraith did the same, sometimes killing two infected with a shot. The mercenaries managed to fight their way into another hallway and up to a directory. Wraith covered Reaper as he read the signs. There was one that was pointing to the right that read, "Rooms 500-520". Tapping Wraith on the shoulder they began making their way in that direction. Reaper kept his eyes to their rear while Wraith watched the front. Infected came pouring out of the rooms and Reaper found his first pistol was out of ammo. He quickly drew the other pistol and began unloading into the oncoming infected. He heard Wraith put up his shotgun and draw his M-16, pouring rounds into the infected.

Soon Reaper used the last bullet in his clip and started drawing one of the submachine guns. He heard the infected from Wraith's end getting closer and his partner fell to his knee shouting, "Cover me while I reload!"

At that Reaper drew his second submachine gun and turned to his side, keeping the infected in his peripheral vision. He opened fire just above Wraith's head, who was putting another clip in his M-16. Once he put in a fresh clip Wraith shouted, "Good!" Reaper nodded and focused his attention back onto the infected coming on his end, using the last of his ammo to finish off any that were left. Wraith used his clip to kill a particularly large group that poured from one of the rooms.

Once they made sure that all the infected were dead the two mercenaries sighed, turning to each other and giving a high-five. "Great job." Reaper said, placing his submachine guns in their holsters.

Wraith nodded and was about to say something when he stopped. Reaper was about to ask what was wrong when he heard what Wraith did as well. The sound of sobbing was coming through one of the rooms. "Think it may be a survivor?" Wraith asked, turning to the direction of the noise.

"Most likely." Reaper whispered, slowly walking towards where the noise was coming from. " I don't think any of the infected have ever started crying before." As they walked towards the source of the noise they noticed it was one of the few doors that was actually closed, giving them more hope that the survivors were in there.

"You go in and get them, I'll keep watch out here." Wraith said, turning around and loading another clip into his M-16.

Reaper nodded, "If anything goes wrong get in here ASAP."

Wraith nodded and Reaper slowly opened the door. The only light in the room was the light in the room, but Reaper saw a human figure, woman specifically, sitting in the middle of the light. She seemed to be turned away from him, wore tattered clothes, and had long and unkempt hair. This was the doctor? Where was the other survivor? Reaper shrugged, walking up to the woman and whispering. "Hey, you alright?" The woman didn't seem to notice, she was still sobbing openly. Reaper slowly leaned forward and tapped her on the shoulder. That sparked a reaction, though not the one the mercenary expected. The woman turned her head suddenly, and her eyes were blood red. That was when Reaper saw her hands. They ended in long claw-like points. Reaper quickly turned around and shouted, "She's an infected!" He quickly ran back to Wraith, who fired a few shots at the woman as Reaper cleared the doorway. To their surprise she took the shots and kept running. Before she reached them Reaper shut the door in her face, her screams being heard through the door.

"What the hell was that?" Wraith asked, leaning against the door.

"Crazy witch that's what it was." Reaper said, rubbing his forehead.

A moment passed and Wraith pointed the M-16 down the hall, Reaper looked down it to see what had Wraith so worried. There was a large figure, not even close to human, standing at the end. It had one large and hideously disfigured arm and one tiny strand dangling behind it. It's steps thundered through the hall and the two mercenaries looked at each other for a second. "What the fuck is with this guy?" Wraith asked, turning back to the infected.

Without warning the infected started charging and Wraith began opening fire. The creature was too fast, however, and it slammed into Wraith. Reaper would have assisted, but at that moment the infected that he had left in the room clawed its way through the door like a pair of scissors would paper. As the large infected dragged Wraith away the other infected began swinging its long claws at Reaper. The mercenary barely avoided each of its swings and while it was swinging he drew the two shortsticks he had on his back. He ducked another swing from his opponent and smacked one of the melee weapons across the infected's face. He got a little cocky when she was staggered for a moment, but that feeling was gone when she started swinging again.

Reaper managed to get a few lucky shots in but in a single swing the infected knocked the weapons out of Reaper's hands and made him fall to the ground. He began looking for something, anything, to keep the infected from clawing him to pieces. The only thing he found was a metal clipboard on the ground. He just barely held it in front of his face before she threw her long claws downward. The claws went straight through the clipboard and they stopped just before they hit his throat. She was surprisingly strong and he couldn't hold her back for long. He turned his head to Wraith who was being held over the head of the large infected and about to be smashed into a pancake.

He closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate as the claws started getting closer and closer. They flew open when he heard a gunshot and a bullet fly over his head. He saw blood pour from the infected's head and it fell to the ground next to him. He heard a second gunshot and looked over to Wraith and saw the large infect fall to the ground, dead. Wraith stood up and the two looked at each other for a moment. Then their eyes drifted towards the source of the gunshots. They saw a cloaked figure that was hunched over.

They saw the figure stand up and look at the two. They couldn't see the face because it was hidden in shadow but it was clear that was the person they had contacted before. "It's odd isn't it?" He asked. "That I ended up saving you instead of the other way around."


End file.
